Grain-drill.



PATENTED OCT. 4, 1904,

W. D. MYERS. GRAIN DRILL.

APPLICATION FILLED APR. 15, 1904.

Qttoz we 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R 21mm N0 MODEL.

"l/vih uzozsm K NO. 771,485. PATENTED OCT. 4, 1904.

y W. D. MYERS.

GRAIN DRILL.

APPLIOA'IION FILED 15, 1904. N0 MODEL.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 771,485. PATENTED OCT. 4, 1904.

w. 'D. MYERS.

GRAIN DRILL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1904.

NO MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented October 4, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

GRAIN-DRILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 771,485, dated October4, 1904.

Application filed April 15, 1904. Serial No. 203,361. (No model.)

To all whom, it Wuty concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DAVID MYERS, a citizen of the United States,residing atWaynoka, in the county of Woods, Oklahoma Territory, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Drills; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in grain-drills;and the object of the invention is to produce a device of this characterwhich will be simple-in construction and convenientin operation and soarranged that the apparatus may be set for sowing various kinds of seedand providing means for throwing the feeding mechanism into and out ofoperation.

The invention consists, further, in various details of construction andcombinations and arrangements of parts, which will be hereinafter fullydescribed and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, withthe letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of thisapplication, and in which drawings similar letters of reference indicatelike parts in the views, in which- Figure 1 is a rear elevation of myimproved grain-drill, parts being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is asectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional viewon line 3 3 of Fig. 2, parts being in elevation. Fig. 4. is a sectionalview on line 4 4 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5is a sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4: looking in the directionof the arrow. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional View on line 6 6 of Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 7 is a sectionalview on line7 7 of Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the retarycutter and hoe mechanism. Fig. 9 is a sectional view through thedriving-shaft, showing the ratchet mechanism carried by the hub of thewheel. Fig. 10 is a detail view.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, Adesignates the d riving-axle, which is provided with a collar A, keyedto the shaft A and carrying spring-actuated dogs a, which are adapted toengage teeth 6/ upon an annular shoulder in the hub of the wheel A Eachwheel mounted upon the ends of the shaft is similarly equipped withratchet mechanism, whereby whether the truck is turned in one directionor the other, causing one wheel to be idle while the other is in motion,rotary movement may be imparted to the feed mechanism of the drill. Bdesignates a frame of the drill, which is supported upon said shaft oraxle A, suitable bearings B being provided for engagement with the axleor shaft, and a seedbox B is supported upon said frame by standards B.

Loosely mounted upon the driving shaft or axle is a pinion-wheel C,having a hub-section O either integral with or secured thereto, the edgeof said hub being provided with teeth adapted to intermesh with theteeth of the clutch member G which is keyed to the shaft A and has alongitudinal movement upon said shaft. A spring O bears between anadjustable collar (1*, fixed to the shaft A, and the adjacent end of theclutch member C, and the ofiice of said spring is to normally hold theteeth of the clutch member in mesh with the teeth of the hub portion ofsaid pinion-wheel O, whereby as the shaft is rotated the pinionwheel isrotated therewith for the purpose of imparting motion to theseed-feeding apparatus about to be described. A yoke O" has armsengaging the annular groove in said clutch member and is carried by theadjustable collar O, which may be adjustably held upon the shaft- D atdifferent locations, accordingly as it might be desired to adjust theapparatus, so that the feeding mechanism will not operate while thedriving-shaft is rotating. A set-screw O is provided which passesthrough the collar C and is adapted to frictionally engage the shaft Dto hold the collar in an adjusted position.

J ournaled in the standards B of the feedbox is a shaft E, and .looselymounted upon said shaft E is a pinion-wheel E, which is similar inconstruction to the pinion-wheel O IOC) referred to and is provided witha hub E having a serrated edge designed to engage similar teeth orserrations upon'the clutch member E (Shown clearly in Fig. 3 of thedrawings.) The clutch member E is keyed to rotate with the shaft E, buthas a slight longitudinal movement independent of the shaft 'sufficientto allow the serrations or teeth thereon to engage or disengage theteeth upon the hub E. A collar E is adjustably mounted upon the shaft E,being held in an adjusted position by a set-screw E (shown in Fig. l ofthe drawings, and a spring E bears between said collar E and theclutch'inember E and serves to normally hold the teeth upon said clutchmember and hub portion E normally in mesh. A clutch-disengaging yoke Eisprovided, the arms of which engage the annular groove of member E andsaid yoke E is pivotally connected to a lever E, Fig. 1 of the drawings,which lever in turn is pivoted at e to the seedbox B An operatinglever Fis pivoted at F to the rear of the seedbox, and a rod F is pivotallyconnected at one end to the lever F and at its other end to the lever E(Illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.) A serrated bar F is fastened tothe rear of the seedbox and is adapted to hold the lever F in one or theother of the serrations thereon for the purpose of throwing the clutchmember E into or out of engagement with the hub of the pinion-wheel E. Apinion-wheel G is mounted upon a stub-shaft G (shown clearly in Fig. 3of the drawings) and is adapted to form means for communicating motionfrom the pinion C on the main driving-shaft to the pinion-wheel E. Byreferring to Fig. 3 of the drawings it will be seen that thepinion-wheel G is substantially twice the length of the pinion-wheels Cand E and the shaft E is adapted to have a slight longitudinal movementfor the purpose of regulating the movement of seed to be sown in amanner which will be described and whatever position the shaft E mayassume the pinion-wheel E will be rotated with the pinion-wheel G.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings will be seen ascale H, which isfastened to the rear of the seedbox, and moving adjacent to the face ofsaid scale is a bar H, having lugs it projecting from the upper edgethereof. Said bar has a laterally-projecting lug 71, (shown clearly inFigs. I and 5 of the drawings,) which lug has an aperture 7& therein,and I designates a lever pivotally mounted at I, Fig. I of the drawings,on the bottom of the seedbox. and passes through the slot /L in said lugit, and a rod I is pivotally connected to the lever I at one end, andits other end is pivoted to the lever I", pivotally mounted at 1'' uponthe rear of the seedbox within convenient reach of the operators seat I,Fig. l of the drawings. Fixed to the downwardly-project- A pin I iscarried by said lever I ing portion'of the lever I, as seen in Fig. 4%of the drawings, is a yoke I the arms of said yoke engaging an annulargroove in a collar I, which is fixed to the shaft E, whereby as thelever I is moved in one direction or the other a slight longitudinalmovement may be imparted to said shaft E and feed-wheel, which willcause more or less grain to be fed from the seedbox,and the quantity ofvarious kinds of seed which are to be sown to the acre being indicatedby the scale.

The seed-feeding apparatus comprises a series of cups J. (Shown clearlyin elevation in Fig. 2 and in section in Fig. 3.) There may be anynumber of cups employed, corresponding to the number of hoes and drills,and in the present invention I have shown ten feed-cups, each of whichhas communication through an exit-aperture in the bottom of these'edbox. Keyed to the shaft E is a series of feed-wheels, eachdesignated in the drawings by letter K, said wheels being provided withspiral teeth or ribs K, with concaved portions intermediate said teeth,and L designates a disk or rosette, which is mounted to have a rotarymovement upon a shoulder about the marginal edge of an aperture in theside wall of one of said cups. The inner marginal edge of said disk orring is scalloped, as at U, designed to conform to the circumference ofsaid feed-wheel K, and is adapted to rotate with the feed-wheel and isso arranged as to allow the feed-wheel to have a longitudinal movementthrough said disk or ring while rotating therewith. Said feed-wheelpasses through one wall of the seedbox and is adapted to regulate themovement of seed to be fed accordingly as the feed-wheel rotatesentirely within the cup or partially, which movement is regulated by thelongitudinal movement of the shaft E. A cut-off member or follower N isprovided which comprises a hub portion having two wings N, which have aslight spiral shape, and said member is journaled upon a shaft E and ismovable longitudinally with the shaft. One wall of the feed cup or boxhas an aperture which is provided with laterally projecting recessesconforming to the wings of said cut-off member, thus allowing the feedmember to be drawn within the feed cup or box or to be pushed throughthe wall of said box, accordingly as it may be desired to wholly orpartially cut off the feeding of the seed. It will be observed that thespiral arrangement of the teeth upon said feed-wheel and the cut-offmember are reversely arranged, the spiral arrangement of the teeth uponthe feed-wheel being so arranged as to feed the seed to the bestadvantage, while the wings of the cut-off member are so arranged thatthey will not interfere with thefeeding of the seed, but willeffectually cut off the feeding when the feed-wheel is withdrawn fromthe cup and when the cutoff member is drawn within the cup. By thisarrangement it will be observed that when the cut-off member'is drawnwithin the cup the shaft and feeding-wheel may still be rotated withoutthe feeding of any seed. A passageway M leads from each feed cup or boxand communicates with the hollow shank portion of the hoe or drill O.(Shown clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings.)

Secured to the frame of the apparatus is a tongue P, and S designates ashaft which is mounted upon the angled irons S, Fig. 2 of the drawings,which irons are secured to the frame of the apparatus in any suitablemanner. and R designates bars which are angled, as shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings, and have lugs or journal-boxes R depending from the loweredges thereof, in which lugs is mounted an axle R upon which thecutter-disks R are journaled. Interposed between the two arms R is ablock 1, which is apertured to receive a rod Rfl passing through saidblock, and has hooks R at its lower end which are adapted to engage saidblock for the purpose-of elevating the arms R when it is desired toraise the cutter-disks from the ground. A spring R is provided whichbears against said block 0 and a shoulder R the purpose of said springbeing to normally hold the arms R and the cutter-disks at itslowestlimit. The upper end of the bar R" ispivotally-connected to an armR which is integral with a collar R, keyed to the shaft Q.

T T designate two arms or bars which are also pivotally mounted upon theshaft S and between which the arms'R and the cutterdisks B have a play.The ends of'the arms T project beyond the disks, as shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings, and are fastened together by means of a pin T, with whichpin a bar T has pivotal connection at its lower end,

the upper end being pivotally connected toan arm T projecting from acollar T*, which is keyed to a shaft W, journaled in the ends of theframe of the apparatus. Secured to the ends of the bars T is a hoe ordrill-point V, which is hollow and communicates withthe tube M, leadingto the seedbox. Pivotally mounted upon lugs V, which project from therear of said hoe or'drill-point, is a bracket member X, to which aforked yoke X is pivoted, carrying in its arms a stub-axle X upon whichthe press-wheel X is journaled. A spring Y is interposed between saidyoke X and a lug upon said bracket member X, whereby the press-wheel'maybe held at its lowest position. By mounting the press-whee] in themanner illustrated the same may be allowed a vertical as well as alateral movement to adapt itself to obstructions or various conditions.

Keyed to the shaft W is an arm T, which has pivotal connection, by meansof the links T with an arm g, which is integral with the segment memberQ which is loosely mounted upon the shaft Q. A dog (not shown) upon thelever Q is adapted to engage the teeth of the segment Q whereby whensaid dog is in engagement with one of the teeth of the segment bothshafts Q and W may be caused to move in unison for the purposeof-raising the two pairs of bars or arms R and T, and when the dogisdisengaged from the teeth of said segment the cutting-colter may beoperated independent of the drill-point by the manipulation of the leverQ. A bar Q is pivoted at q to said segment Q and its other end ispivotally connected to a lever Q, which has a hand-operated pawldesigned to engage the teeth of a segment Q (shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawings,) whereby the drillpoinlt may be raised or lowered, as may bedesire r While I have illustrated and described the mechanism of asingle feed-cup and drill with mechanism for operating the same, it willbe understood that each cup is provided with a similar mechanism, andcorresponding to each cup is a drill-point or hoe and a press-wheel,

and as saidcutting-disks and drill-points are all connected with theshafts described one movement of an operating-lever will actuate allofthe cutting-disks and drill-points, as will be understood.

The operation of my drill will be readily understood from the foregoing,and by the construction shown the quantity of seed to be sown may beregulated by the manipulation of the lever, which causes a longitudinalmovement to be imparted to the shaft E, and if it is desired tocausethe' cutting-disks to be raised independent of the drill-points itmay be conveniently done by the manipulation of the lever Q, and if itis desired to raise the drill-points-and the cutting-disks together thismay be accomplished by the manipulation of the lever Q By theconstruction of a seed-drill embodying the features of my invention, itwill be observed that means is provided for cutting any trash that theapparatus might come in contact with while passing over a field, thuspreventing the clogging up of trash in advance of the drill-points.

Whilel have shown a particular construction of seed-drill illustratingthe features of my invention, it will be understood that I may makevarious alterations in the detailed construction of the invention, ifdesired, without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a grain-drill, the combination with the frame, seedbox and cupscommunicating with said box, a longitudinally-movable shaft passingthrough said cups, spiral feed-wheels fixed to said shaft and havingcorrugated circumferences, disks swiveled in corresponding sides ofsaidcups and each having an inner scalloped circumference adapted to engagethe corrugated circumferences of said feed-wheels and rotate therewith,non-rotatable cut-ofl's mounted upon said shaft and having spiral Wingswhich have a play through radial slots in the corresponding walls ofsaid cups, the inner portions of said spiral wings in contact with theinner ends of said feed-wheels, and means for rotating said shaft andmechanism for imparting a longitudinal movement thereto, as set forth.

2. In a grain-drill, the combination with the frame, seedbox and cupscommunicating with said box, a longitndinally-movable shaft passingthrough said cups, spiral feed-wheels fixed to said shaft and havingcorrugated circumferences, disks swiveled in COIIQSDOHCliHg sides ofsaid cups and each having an inner sca1- loped circun'iferencc adaptedto engage the corrugated circumferences of said feedwheels and rotatetherewith, non rotatable cut-offs mounted upon said shaft and havingspiral wings which have a play through radial slots in the correspondingwalls of saidcups, the inner portions of said spiral wings in contactwith the inner ends of said feed-Wheels, a collar fixed to said shaft, aspring interposed between the same and one of said cut-offs adapted tonormally hold the latter in contact with said feed-wheels, mechanism forrotating the shaft, and means for imparting a longitudinal movementthereto, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

l/VILLIAM DAVID MYERS. WVitnesses:

JAS. M. PATTERSON, (i. T. runs

